THE 5 Body Shapes

AND BEYOND

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About Body Shapes

In order to feel your best, outfits have to work for YOU. All of our bodies are
different, and what may work on someone else may not work for you. It's
important to understand YOUR body shape and how to dress it well.

This workbook will guide you through how to identify your body shape
through measurements. Many women guess or assume a lot of things about
their shape, but measurements will give you a concrete understanding of
your body shape, which is the first step to dressing your body well!

Let's begin!

When talking about body shapes, it’s helpful to understand ours as a

combination of three different categories:

1) Width Proportions
2) Length Proportions
3) Other Unique Attributes

1. 2. 3.

Width Proportions: Proportions of your body measuring width-wise

Length Proportions: Proportions your body according to length or height
Other Unique Attributes: Any other notable features that make your body shape
unique

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Width Proportions

These are also known as 5 Body Shapes, which primarily focus on the
proportions of your body width-wise, at your shoulders, chest, waist, and
hips. Some would argue that there are more than five body shapes, while
others argue that almost every woman fits into some version of these five
shapes.

While we are all created uniquely and five shapes do not accommodate
everyone perfectly, we'll start with these five as basic shapes. There are of
course other considerations, which we will account for in the other two
categories of Length Proportions and Other Unique Attributes. For now, let's
focus on the 5 Basic Body Shapes.

TRIANGLE (OR PEAR) INVERTED TRIANGLE HOURGLASS RECTANGLE ROUND (OR APPLE)

Hips are wider than Shoulders or bust Hips are even with Shoulders or bust, Waist is wider than
waist and shoulders are wider than waist shoulders or bust, waist, and hips are hips and shoulders
or bust and waist is and hips and waist is well- nearly even or bust
well-defined defined

The most certain way to know your body shape is by taking measurements,
not by guessing.  Many women think they are one body shape when they
really are another. Head to the next page to measure yourself!

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We’ll start by measuring width proportions to determine which of the

5 Body Shapes is closest to yours.  Fill in the measurements as you go.

Measure Around Your: ----- Shoulders:

----- Bust:
----- Waist:
Shoulders: As close to the top as you can get
Bust: At the largest part ----- Fullest Hip:
Waist: At smallest part of your natural waist
Fullest Hip: At the largest part around your
hips/rear

You are a...

Triangle/Pear if your hips are wider than your shoulders and/or

bust by close to 1.5 to 2” or more AND larger than your waist

Inverted Triangle if your shoulders and/or bust is wider than your

waist and hips, usually by close to 1.5 to 2” or more

Hourglass if your shoulders and/or bust is equal to your hips or

within about 1”, AND your waist is at least 8-9” smaller

Rectangle if your shoulders and/or bust is equal to your hips or

within about 1”, AND within 7” or less from your waist

Round/Apple if your waist measures larger than your shoulders

and/or bust and hips

You might span across a couple of shapes, like having slightly broader
shoulders like an Inverted Triangle but a defined waist making you kind of
Hourglass.  If so, that’s perfectly normal! We are all created uniquely, so
these five shapes don't accommodate us perfectly.

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Length Proportions
Next, we’ll measure length proportions to determine your height and
torso length.  Follow along and record your measurements below.

Height:

How To Measure:

Height: With your feet flat, measure

from the top of your head to your heels.
TORSO
Underarm to Hip: Measure from your Underarm to Natural Waist:
underarm to your hip bone, which is
where your leg is joined to your hip. 
Underarm to Hip:
Find this by lifting your leg to the side,
and measure where your body creases.
This is not necessarily the fullest part of
your lower body. My Height is:

Average = 5’4” to 5’7”

Underarm to Natural Waist: Your
Petite = 5’3” and shorter
natural waist is generally near the top
Tall = 5’8” and taller
of the hip bone where your body bends
when you lean over to the side. (circle one)

Your torso length measures if your waist sits higher or lower than average. 
This is also known as being short waisted or having a long torso.
Understanding your torso length helps you hone in on which length of tops
works best on you, which narrows the focus while you shop and makes
shopping easier.

Identify Your Torso Length

Average = Waist is halfway between your underarm and hip
Short waisted = Waist is 1” or more above the halfway point between your
underarm and hip (i.e. your waist sits higher)
Long torso = Waist is 1” or more below the halfway point between your
underarm and hip (i.e. your waist sits lower)

My torso length is:

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Other Unique Attributes

Knowing your Body Shape and Length Proportions can take you quite far in
finding clothes that work well for you, and you may be set just knowing
those.  If so, feel free to skip this part.  But, there are many other nuances
that make your body uniquely yours, and you may find it helpful to identify
additional key attributes.  Since there is an endless number of them, we will
focus on a few that commonly affect how clothes fit.

Common Ones: 

Shoulders: Sloped, narrow shoulders, square or broad,

etc.

Chest: Smaller than average, larger than average, bust

that sits high, bust that sits low, etc.

Legs: Very thin ankles, large calves, etc.  

I think my unique attributes are:

Notes:

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